Renovate a bathroom in 24 hours

If you live in an older home, you may well be grinding your teeth over your bathroom. Considering how much time we spend in our bathrooms, there's good reason to want yours to be a pleasant place to be. Ancient cupboards, peeling linoleum floors, murky mirrors, and funky stained fixtures aren't really what you envision when you think of relaxing -- or showing your guests your lovely home.

Let's take a closer look at what they did. After gutting and repainting, they replaced the sink and toilet with updated, streamlined models (including a water efficient toilet for energy savings). They also replaced the dull lighting over the mirror with something a little more elegant, and framed the mirror to give it depth and texture, a trick that can be used with builder grade mirrors of all sizes to give them more personality.

They tore out the linoleum and replaced it with tile, added a vanity for storage, and replaced the toilet paper holder, towel rack, and other hardware. The shower was left in its original state, but the paint choices and towels blend much better, making it a streamlined part of the bathroom instead of an eyesore.

The couple spent approximately $1,000 on the remodel, most of which was on the new fixtures and supplies. Doing the work themselves saved a substantial amount of money, and allowed them to perform the job on their schedule -- which turned out to be a tight one!